A Holiday Romance
by luberly
Summary: This is a continuation of 'A Secret from Santa.' What is Stephanie's answer to that all important question?
1. Chapter 1

A Holiday Romance

All characters are not owned by me.

Last time in A Secret from Santa...

_When I had the paper off the small blue box, I stood there staring at the box in my hand. It was a small Tiffany's box. I shook as I opened it and was confused by the fact that the box was empty. I looked over at Ranger and he wasn't there. I looked around and saw that he was on the floor in front of me holding out something in his hand. He looked up at me and said, "I've waited a long time to say this Babe, so here goes. I know this is a bit unexpected, but will you marry me?"_

I looked down at Ranger and looked at him like he was completely and absolutely mad. I looked around at all the faces staring at us and smiled before saying, "I think Ranger and I need a bit of private time. Don't wait up boys."

I held my hand out and watched Ranger take it and then led him down the hall towards the elevator. I took Ranger's keys out of his hand and pressed the button that scrambled the cameras and led him into the elevator and then into his apartment on the 7th floor. During our trip, neither of us said a word, but the smile he gave me when he proposed was still on Ranger's face. I laughed inside when I thought about the fact that his face must hurt because never smiles this long. His face muscles must be getting sore.

As soon as we were inside the apartment, I dragged Ranger over to the sofa. He sat down and looked up at me, still holding my hand. I smiled at him and took a deep breath before saying, "What the hell is wrong with you Ranger?"

The smile slipped from Ranger's face as I continued.

"The last time we talked about our feelings, you told me that you couldn't have a relationship. You also said that you loved me, but that your love comes with a condom and not a ring. What the hell has changed so much in the past year? We haven't even gone on a proper date. You went from no relationships to marriage. I think we've skipped a few steps, don't you?"

Ranger was looking up at me and his face looked crestfallen. He looked down at his hands and asked, "Does this mean that you won't marry me?"

I kneeled down in front of him and lifted his face so that I could look into his eyes and said, "No, it does not mean that I won't marry you, but I also can't say 'Yes' just yet either. I would like to get to know you better. You know practically everything about me and I know next to nothing about you. Would you be willing to answer some questions for me?

Ranger nodded and said, "I will answer what I can, but you must understand that there are some things I can't tell you."

I sat down beside him and faced him before saying, "I understand about your military background and any classified missions. Anything else should be fair game. Are you ready?"

Ranger nodded and stood, walking away from me. I was a bit annoyed by this, but when he returned with two bottles of water, two wine glasses and a bottle of wine, I calmed down a bit. Ranger took his time opening the wine and pouring. He handed me a glass and said, "As your questions Babe, my life is an open book, or as much as possible."

I repositioned myself on the sofa and got comfortable. I took a sip of my wine for courage and said, "OK, why have you changed your position on relationships?"

The corners of Ranger's lips curled and he said, "Well, if I'm honest, I regretted those words as soon as I said them. The reason I have changed my mind is because my contract is over and I no longer do work that would take me into the wind. I can concentrate on growing my business and I only have to travel on RangeMan and family business if I choose.

"Also, I have realised how stupid it was to send you back to Morelli. I always thought that you wanted the life he could offer you. A Burg wedding, house and family, but it turns out I was wrong. The life he offered wasn't at all what you wanted, and when you ended it this last time, I realised I needed to tell you that I wanted to offer you what you wanted."

I must have had my mouth open because Ranger reached over and used his hand to close my mouth. I was still staring at him, but I managed to say, "And you chose to go from nothing to marriage? Why not ask me out on a date?"

Ranger looked a little uncomfortable before saying, "I thought about that, but I know how we feel about each other. We have a connection that I can't explain and I already know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I only hoped that you felt the same way about me. I guess I was wrong."

The look of rejection was written all over Ranger's face. It was almost painful to watch, so I decided to put him out of his misery.

"Ranger, you weren't wrong. I feel the same connection. I know when you're near, I know when you're injured, and I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. My problem is that I know so little about your personal life and I want to know that stuff. For example, I don't want to call my husband by his street name. What would you suggest?"

"Most of my family calls me Carlos, so you could call me that if you'd like."

I smiled and said, "OK, I'll call you Ranger for work related business. The rest of the time I'll call you Carlos. Next, tell me about your family. Is it large?"

Carlos spent the next 15 minutes telling me about his family. He is one of 5 children who are scattered across the country. His parents, grandmother and eldest sister live in Newark. His brother and one sister live in Miami. His other two sisters are still in college. One is in New York and the other is in California. He also mentioned all of the spouses and nieces and nephews, but I couldn't keep track of everyone. There were a lot of them.

I let Carlos talk about his family without interruption. When he stopped talking for a few minutes, I knew that I was never going to remember all the names. I looked around and said, "I should write this stuff down. I'm going to forget everyone and make a complete fool of myself when I meet them."

Ranger smiled and said, "Don't worry Babe, it will be much easier once there's a face to go with the name anyway. I can't wait to introduce you to them all. They'll love you as much as I do."

I finished my glass of wine and watched as Ranger topped up both of our glasses. I took a sip and asked my next question. "What is your relationship with Julie and her mother like?"

"Things with Rachel are pretty amicable to be honest. Ever since the whole Scrog incident, Rachel has relaxed a lot and let me play a bigger role in Julie's life. I speak to Julie at least once a week on the phone and I try to see her once a month. With my missions, it wasn't always possible to see her, but I'm hoping that things will be a little easier now that I no longer have be away for weeks and months on end. Julie deserves something a bit more structured and Rachel does too."

I nodded and moved on to my next question. "How do you think Julie will feel about us getting married?"

Ranger smiled and said, "Julie loves you Babe. She asks about you every time we talk. I think she'll be so excited to have you as her a stepmother."

The idea of being a stepmother made me a little queasy. Not because I was afraid of Julie, but it's a lot of responsibility. Something I'm not sure I'm cut out for if I'm honest.

Ranger's ESP must have been in tip-top shape because he looked at me and said, "Babe, you'd be a wonderful stepmother. I'm also pretty sure that you'd be a wonderful mother as well."

"Whoa there Nelly, what happened to the whole condom and ring theory? Was the condom taken off the table when the ring was placed back on?"

Ranger paled a bit and said, "I guess so. I never really wanted more children because I didn't know if I could be around to spend time with them or not. Things have calmed down quite a bit and now I'm beginning to reconsider a lot of things in my life. I'm not saying that we have to have children. I'm just saying that I'm no longer completely closed off to the idea. But Babe, please don't ever call me Nelly again. It's not very manly."

I kind of zoned out at that point. When I was with Morelli, the idea of kids scared the crap out of me. I think maybe that was because I knew I would have to do everything pretty much on my own. Joe loved his job and he wouldn't be around all that much, especially at the early stages when sleep is hard to come by. Even though Ranger has a time consuming or full-on job, I was pretty sure that he would be involved as much as possible if we ever did have kids. Ranger waved his hands in front of my face to get my attention and I refocused on him.

"OK, I won't call you Nelly again. The whole kid thing scared me a hell of a lot with Morelli, but that was because I knew he would do little to help out. That was the woman's job in his mind. I know you'd be different."

Ranger nodded and said, "If we do end up having a child of our own, you're damn right that I'll be involved. I'll do midnight feedings, I'll change diapers, the whole lot. I missed that all with Julie and I'll never miss it again if I'm given the opportunity."

I smiled at Ranger and asked my next question. "If you hadn't joined the army, what would you be doing now?"

Ranger grimaced and said, "Twenty to life or nowhere at all."

The confused look on my face must have been obvious because Ranger elaborated. "I'd probably be in prison or dead. My life was heading in the wrong direction when I joined the army. It straightened me out and probably saved my life. It's a long story, but the highlights are that I was caught up in a gang, shipped off to live with my grandmother, went to college and got involved in the gang again. I was arrested and given a choice, army or jail. The choice was easy and it was the best decision I ever made."

"I'll ask more questions about your childhood later. For now, I want to know where you've travelled while in the Army. I don't mean any classified stuff, just regular tour of duty locations."

"Well, I did most of my training here in the U.S., but I served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Central America. I also spent some time in Germany while training with the Rangers. I have spent short periods of time in Russia, Japan, South America, Israel and Africa while I was participating in joint training exercises with different countries and governments."

"Wow. I have barely been outside of the United States. I've only been to Mexico."

"I'll do my best to rectify that Babe. There are many places I'd love to show you in this world. I can't wait to show you some of my favourites."

I let my mind wander at the thought of travelling alongside Ranger to exotic places around the world. Ranger brought me back to reality by touching my face with his hand. I looked at him and asked, "How many languages do you speak?"

Ranger thought for a moment and then said, "I am fluent in 5 languages, but I can get by in another 3 or 4 if necessary."

I raised my eyebrows causing him to elaborate. "English and Spanish are my first languages. I can also speak French, German and Arabic fluently. I know enough Russian, Japanese and Portuguese to get by. I also know a little Mandarin."

Again, I was amazed at the man sitting beside me. There was so much that I didn't know about him and I was looking forward to learning more. I'd have an entire lifetime to learn them. There wasn't a huge rush right now. That's when the events of the evening came back to me, so my next question was about the gift exchange rather than Carlos.

"My next question is about today. How did you change all of the names in the bowl all to mine, and how did I get yours?"

Ranger grinned like a fool and said, "I watched you write out the names of the men and lock the bowl in your desk. I also spoke to all the men and they all told me that they hoped to get your name. I came up with the idea to swap all the names and replace them with your name and Lester and Tank agreed to help me. The next morning, before you arrived, I swapped out the contents of the bowl so that it contained only your name on every single piece of paper.

"I had a feeling that you'd select either Lester or I before you went last. We both had a piece of paper with my name on it clutched in our hand. We would simply take the two remaining pieces of paper with your name and leave the one with my name in the bowl for you to pick, and that's exactly what happened."

I thought for a moment and then asked, "How did the guys know what to buy me? Every single one of them bought me something I wanted or needed. A lot of them were things I'd never mentioned to them."

"That was easy. We just talked to your friends and family. We were given loads of ideas. Lula was a font of information, as was Mary Lou. All the guys wanted to give you something you really loved, but none of them were brave enough to buy what your Grandma Mazur suggested, all except me of course."

Carlos winked at me and I laughed so hard I actually fell off the sofa. Once I righted myself I said, "I can't believe that you listened to Grandma Mazur, almost as much as I can't believe that you just winked at me."

Carlos was grinning and asked, "Do you want to know what I bought?"

I thought for a moment confused and said, "It wasn't her that suggested that you propose was it?"

Carlos shook his head as he walked into the bedroom. He returned a few moments later with two wrapped presents and said, "No. That was all my idea. She suggested certain items from two shops in town. I couldn't give these to you downstairs in front of the guys because they're a little bit personal. I wanted to have you all to myself when you opened these."

Carlos handed me the smaller of the two presents and watched as I ripped into the paper. I wasn't as patient or as careful as he was with his present, but that didn't matter to either of us. I pulled back the paper in the box to reveal a very sexy piece of lingerie in leopard print. I looked up at Carlos' smiling face and said, "She even suggested the print, didn't she?"

When Carlos nodded I said, "That woman is obsessed with animal print. She's even worse than Lula."

I pulled the second present towards me and gasped when I saw that it was filled with various items from the Pleasure Palace. It had massage oils, chocolate body paints, a hand-held mini vibrator and a pair of fur-lined handcuffs. I looked up at Carlos and tried to raise an eyebrow but only succeeded in opening both eyes wider. Carlos laughed and said, "These were the tamest of the items she suggested Babe. I honestly don't think she expected any of us to go there and buy anything .I think she liked seeing Hal blush. He was with me and Lester when we ran into her at the mall."

I couldn't believe he bought me lingerie or sex toys on Grandma Mazur's recommendation either and expressed those thoughts in between bouts of laughter. Carlos laughed along with me and finally pulled the box from me and set it on the coffee table. He pulled me close and said, "I look forward to seeing you in that animal print Babe, but let's get back to the questions. I want to tell you anything and everything you want to know."

I gave Carlos a quick hug and said, "I think I'm done with questions for now. Let's move on to something a little more serious."

Carlos nodded and sat back, pulling me along with him so we were both leaning comfortably against the back of the sofa.

"Carlos, I think we should move in together but, I don't think living in your RangeMan apartment will really be help us in moving forward as a couple. I love it here, but this is your place. I will always associate this as your place. I want to live with you but somewhere that we pick out together. Somewhere close by, but separate from work, somewhere that we can make into a home together.

"I realise that your job is important to you, but we need a place that is separate from work. You can keep the apartment and stay here when the need arises, but I think we need our own place away from here. We need privacy and time that is not ruled by RangeMan."

Ranger looked at me and moved close enough to place his hands on either side of my face. He said, "Does this mean that you will marry me Babe?"

I smiled at him and said, "Yes Carlos, I will marry you, but not yet. I'm a traditional sort of girl and I'd prefer for us to go through the typical steps a couple goes through before they get married."

Ranger nodded and said, "Let's go to your parent's for dinner tomorrow night. We can tell them that we're dating and take it from there."

I agreed and asked, "Your place or mine tonight Carlos?"

Carlos stood and stretched and then said, "Yours. I will call an estate agent first thing in the morning and then we can get some boxes and supplies and start packing up our apartments. I'll take the day off tomorrow. I know the boss and it is the 20th of December after all."

Ranger hurried to pack a bag for himself and took me by the hand and led me out the door. We stopped on the 5th floor so I could get my handbag and keys and found almost all of the guys down there. As soon as they saw us, we were inundated with questions about my answer to Carlos' proposal.

When we were just about to climb into the elevator, Lester yelled, "Did she say 'No' Boss man?"

I didn't want the guys to think I rejected Ranger so I said, "No Les, I didn't say 'No' to Carlos."

Lester smiled and said, "So you said 'Yes' then?"

I smiled back at him and replied, "Not yet," just as the doors closed and we were lost from his sight.


	2. Chapter 2 - House Huntering

Chapter 2. House Huntering

I woke up to sunlight streaming through the window and a nice warm body beside me. Carlos and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking. Ranger asked some questions, I asked some questions and we laughed a lot. It turns out that we were both a bit of a handful when we were young.

We also talked about where we wanted to live. Ranger wanted to buy a house rather than an apartment or loft. He liked the idea of a back yard and spending his free time in the garden. He wanted to host BBQs for friends and family and he also wanted a garden that his Abuela would be proud of. His grandmother was a huge gardening fan and he remembers enjoying his time with her pruning roses and planting new flowers.

Neither of my parents were big gardeners, but our neighbour Mrs. Markowitz had a beautiful garden. I remember watching her maintaining her garden during the year through my bedroom window. It didn't take much to convince me that a house with a nice back yard was something we both wanted for our home.

Carlos wanted a huge house with many bedrooms. I wasn't so sure so I asked why he wanted so many rooms. Carlos replied, "It will give us options if we want to expand our family. Julie can have a room and we'll have several guest rooms for visiting family."

I looked at him for a moment and then said, "Carlos, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need our own bedroom, Julie needs a bedroom and we need a guest bedroom. If we look for a moderate 3 to 4 bedroom house, I'm sure that will be sufficient for now. We can always trade up to something larger if and when we need it."

Carlos seemed to accept my preference, but I could tell from the look in his eye that he was sceptical. Maybe Carlos wanted an extra room for a home office or a library or something similar, but this still could be achieved in a house with four bedrooms.

We finally fell asleep just as the sun started to poke its head above the horizon. I could feel Carlos' arms still wrapped around me, but based on his breathing, he was awake. I rolled over to face him and saw that Carlos was fully dressed and ready for the day. He grinned at me and said, "Morning Babe."

I stretched and sighed before asking, "How long have you been up?"

"Not that long. I've been up long enough to have a shower, call the Real Estate Agent, pop out to the bakery and get back here just in time for you to wake up."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Did you call Tank to let him know that you're not working today?"

Based on the look on Carlos' face, he actually forgot to do that. Tank would probably assume he would not be working today, but Carlos pulled out his phone and made the necessary call. Based on the side of the conversation I could hear, Tank assumed that Carlos wasn't coming in and that he and the rest of the guys were curious about our relationship status. I heard Carlos say, "When we're ready to tell you, you'll know. For now, we're keeping things close to the vest."

While Ranger was on the phone, I dragged myself out of bed and headed into the shower. Twenty minutes later, I emerged clean, dry and dressed to the welcome aroma of fresh coffee. I walked into the kitchen to find Carlos leaning against the counter drinking a bottle of water. He looked at me and said, "Breakfast is on the table Babe. Eat up because the Estate Agent called and she has 4 three bedroom houses for us to look at today and she is expecting us shortly."

"Already? I expected to have to wait until the New Year."

Carlos nodded and said, "Me too, but Lynn says that these four houses have been vacant for a while and since it's the holiday season, most people are too busy to bother with house hunting. We pretty much have her to ourselves. She can help us find exactly what we want, but there is no rush. We can wait until we find exactly what we want."

I smiled up at Carlos as I accepted a cup of coffee that he had prepared just the way I like it. Much to my delight, he also pointed to a plate on the table with 2 of my favourite donuts. I grinned up at him and reached up to kiss him on the cheek before taking a huge bite from the first donut.

Less than 30 minutes later, Carlos and I were sitting in the Real Estate office looking at brochures for the various properties that were available. We rejected three outright because they were in the Burg. The fourth was nothing more than a shell that needed to be completely rebuilt from scratch. I don't think we'd mind a bit of building work, but this was like building a while house. Besides that, it wasn't in the nicest area of town. We passed on that one as well.

Not to be discouraged, Lynn pulled out a few other properties that didn't match our requirements specifically. One was quite close to the RangeMan building but it was a loft apartment with an adjoining roof garden. It only had three bedrooms, but the wall configuration was easily reconfigurable if necessary. We agreed to take a look at the loft and Carlos talked me into going to look at a 6 bedroom house.

His argument was that it would allow us each to have an office and then two spare rooms. This house was located along the River just past the Trenton Country Club. It was a bit far from the office, but it had a huge garden and the price was right because it needed quite a lot of redecorating work. The carpets, the wallpaper, the kitchen, the bathrooms, all were in need of modernisation. Lynn even suggested an interior decorator and a few respectable builders to help us out with that property.

We hopped in our car and followed Lynn to the loft. I was actually surprised at how much I liked the place. Despite being a loft, it was actually two stories. The ground floor had and open plan kitchen and living space. There was plenty of room in the open plan space for a large living room, a dining table and a desk or two. There was also a large family bathroom, a guest bedroom, a small storage closet and a small office.

The second floor had two large bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and a walk-in closet. I liked the layout of the loft. I could tell by the way that Carlos was looking around that he also quite liked the loft. He was very quiet and kept his comments to himself so Lynn didn't sense his interest. He wanted to be able to negotiate so we decided not to express our like or dislike too much in front of Lynn.

The idea to keep our reactions to ourselves was seriously put to the test when we walked through a set of folding French doors that spanned the entire length of the hallway at the top of the stairs between the two bedrooms. A beautifully maintained container garden with trellises and benches were dotted across the roof. As soon as both of us saw the garden, we gasped.

Lynn looked at us both and said, "I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?"

Carlos nodded as he touched some of the intricately shaped topiary shrubs. He looked around and said, "The owners must have spent a lot of time and effort maintaining this garden. They must be sorry to have to say good-bye to it."

Lynn smiled sadly and said, "The woman who is selling this place recently lost her husband. They lived here together for 52 years. She didn't feel that she could take care of the loft and the garden adequately on her own."

Carlos looked at me and then said, "If we do decide to buy this loft, I think we should make some sort of arrangement with the current owner. We would love to allow her access to the garden any time she wants. It would be a shame to separate her from her life's work."

I smiled at the generous offer that Ranger made and agreed with his sentiment. We took one final look around the place and then climbed back in our cars to follow Lynn to the house on the other side of the town. As soon as we closed the doors, Carlos and I looked at each other. He smiled and said, "I really liked that place. Even if we decide not to buy it for ourselves, I'm tempted to buy it as a safe house for RangeMan. That roof garden alone makes it worth the asking price."

I smiled at this and agreed that it was a beautiful apartment. I could see us living there and spending plenty of time in the garden once the weather warms up a bit. We sat in silence as we drove through town towards the house we were viewing. I took this downtime as an opportunity to contact home to let them know that Ranger and I would be joining them for dinner.

Grandma Mazur answered the phone. "Hey Gran, I'm just calling to let Mom know that I'll be coming for dinner tonight. I'll be brining Carlos with me."

"Is that the sexy Bounty Hunger with the package that you kept insisting didn't want a relationship with you?"

"Yup, that's the one. But as it turns out, I was mistaken."

"I'll tell your mother, but I'll leave it until the last possible minute so she doesn't do something silly and invite a date for you."

"Thanks Grandma, I'd appreciate that. It would be quite awkward to tell my family that Carlos and I are together with a date there."

After I got off the phone, Carlos looked at me and said, "Should I expect the Spanish Inquisition?"

"Probably not, my mother will probably be three sheets to the wind and my father will be practically catatonic. It's Grandma Mazur's hands that you'll need to be on the lookout for."

We pulled off the road down a long driveway. The house didn't come into view until we turned the last corner. My jaw dropped at the view. The house was whit stone and there were two large columns on either side of the double front doors. A large garage was off to the left side of the house and a circular drive gave access to both the front door and the garage. The house itself was very symmetrical. There were 6 large windows on each floor on both sides of the door, and that's all you could see from the driveway.

We both climbed out of the car and waited as Lynn opened the door and let us inside. Despite the garish 70's interior, the house was beautiful. All of the rooms were huge with high ceilings. There was a lot of crown moulding and old fashioned touches throughout the house. The master bedroom was about the size of my current apartment. It was also more than twice as large as Ranger's bedroom at RangeMan. There was enough room in there for a king sized bed, a sofa, a chair, two chests of drawers, and still room for a dressing table and mirror. The sheer size was staggering.

There was a large family bathroom with a separate shower and a Jacuzzi tub on the second floor and two separate cloakrooms on the ground floor. A basement was open the whole length of the house and an attic provided a lot of storage options.

The 5 other bedrooms were also very large. Four of the rooms had their own bathrooms. Ranger pointed out one room that would be good for Julie because it was already decorated in feminine colours. The last room he pointed out had mahogany built-in cupboards that would be ideal for an office. It was actually large enough that we could both easily fit two desks in the room and have plenty of space left over

The decor in the kitchen and bathrooms was pretty unpleasant, but despite that, it was a beautiful house. There was so much space and so many cool little features. I was in love with the stone surround that framed the fireplace in the master bedroom. There was a larger but similar surround in the lounge that I could picture holding all sorts of photos and decorative trinkets.

The backyard was so large you couldn't see the end of the property from the house. The previous owners kept horses and the small barn at the bottom of the garden blocked the view to the paddock out back. The fence around the property needed repairing and the Ranger side of Carlos came out and talked about the security opportunities of a new fence. I blanched at the idea of turning the house into a secure vault, but as usual, Carlos recognised my discomfort.

"Don't worry Babe, we're not going to turn our house into a vault. We'll use precautions and our most sophisticated home security alarm, but we'll still have our privacy, no matter where we live."

Lynn was giving us our space, but when she sensed we had seen the whole house, she led us out the back to where the horse paddock was located and showed us something we didn't expect. At the bottom of the garden, there was a self contained 3-bedroom guest house. The current owners built the guest house when their son went to college. He wanted his own place, but they didn't trust him to be fully on his own.

The amount of house and land was incredible. When Carlos first talked about buying a house together, I never thought I'd like something quite this big. I struggle to keep my one bedroom apartment clean, so this house would be near impossible without help. Carlos leaned over and said, "Don't worry Babe. We can hire somebody to help with maintenance and housekeeping. Don't let those kinds of concerns sway your decision in any way."

We both thanked Lynn and promised to contact her soon. We took one last look at the house as we drove away and were both lost inside our own heads. A few minutes later, once we were back on the main road heading towards my apartment, Carlos asked, "What did you think Babe?"

I sighed and said, "I loved them both. The apartment is beautiful and its garden is spectacular. It has a great view and it's close to RangeMan. The house is also gorgeous, but it needs some work done before we could live there. It's bigger than we really need, but I'm sure we can find uses for the space over time."

"I know what you mean. I have ideas about both places. Maybe we should buy both and stay in the apartment until the house is ready and then figure out what to do with the apartment. Ella and Luis are close to retirement, so maybe that could be their retirement present. What do you think?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner?

"We can't buy two houses Carlos. That's ridiculous."

"Why not? I can afford to buy two houses. Besides, we'd only live in the apartment temporarily and then Ella and Luis could have it. I was planning on buying them a house when they retired anyway."

I sighed and said, "Carlos, I can't afford even one of them. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable letting you pay for everything."

I didn't realise it but was shaking in my seat. I get this way when I'm a bit stressed. Carlos reached over and rested his hand on my leg and said, "When you're my wife Babe, my money will be yours. I don't want you to worry about stuff like that anymore. You will find loads of ways to contribute to our life together."

I was beginning to feel like a complete failure. At this point in his life, Carlos was a respected army veteran and he owned his own company. He owned his own apartment and an entire building. In fact, he owns buildings in several cities. I owned nothing. I rented my apartment and I was currently sans personal car. I've been driving my RangeMan car ever since the last one burnt.

My life is a joke. I was a horrible bounty hunter and up until I started to work fulltime at RangeMan, I struggled to pay my rent and feed myself. All the furniture in my apartment is second hand or smoke damaged. The only things I cherished in my life are my shoe collection and my hamster Rex.

Carlos pulled into a strip mall and stopped the car. I wasn't sure why he stopped, but it was clear that he wanted to talk to me when he turned in his seat and took both my hands in his. "Babe, I love you for who you are, not what you have. I have more money than I need, and buying a property is a good way of investing some of that money. I don't want you to feel bad about this, but I honestly don't know how to make you accept my money as a part of me."

I squeezed Carlos' hands and said, "I think my discomfort comes from my forced independence over the past several years. I've had to rely on myself for pretty much everything. Well, I did eat a lot of meals at my parents and I did take part time jobs with you to pay my rent, but I was relatively self-sufficient. I am afraid that I'll end up causing so many disasters that you'll end up spending all of your money saving me or fixing what I break."

Carlos laughed and kissed me. "I'm sure things won't get that bad Babe. Let's get back to your place so we can change and head over to your parents' for dinner."

An hour later at 5:30, we pulled up in front of my parents' house. We were earlier than we usually are for dinner, so neither my mother nor Grandma Mazur were standing in the window as we walked up the foot path to the house. Once inside, I yelled a greeting to my mother.

"Stephanie dear, why didn't you tell me you were coming for dinner? I could have called Marcus Antonio and invited him to join us."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "Mom, I'm not sure he'd feel very comfortable. I brought Carlos with me."

My mom poked her head out of the kitchen and saw Carlos. "I see what you mean. Marcus would be intimidated by your bounty hunter friend. Maybe tomorrow would be better."

I was about to follow my mother into the kitchen when Carlos placed his hand on my shoulder and said, "Let me talk to her Babe. I can be charming if I want and she needs to know a few things about me. I think she'll me more receptive to my words if we're in private."

I nodded and watched as Carlos walked into the kitchen and went to sit in the living room with my father.

**_Ranger's POV_**

I walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Plum facing the stove. She turned when she heard the door open and gasped when she saw me. She recovered quickly and asked, "Is there something I can do for you Ranger?"

"Actually Mrs. Plum, I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you mind?"

Mrs. Plum smiled nervously and said, "Of course."

I took a breath and asked, "Mrs. Plum, what do you know about me as a person? I can tell you have reservations about me spending time with Stephanie."

"Well, you seem like a nice young man, but you're a mercenary, you are a bounty hunter and you work with a bunch of men who look like criminals. I'm afraid that you'll put my daughter in physical danger and emotional danger because you aren't interested in more than a physical relationship."

I smiled at this because this is the exactly the argument that Morelli used with Stephanie when he wanted her to stay away from me and my men. "OK, let's start with the mercenary issue because it's the only part of your concern that is technically true. I was an army Ranger and when I was finished with active duty, the government contracted me to work classified missions. They paid me well but the missions were sanctioned by the US government.

"I now own a company called RangeMan. We currently have offices in 4 cities and we are looking at expanding to two other locations over the next few years. RangeMan does track down and bring in FTAs but I tend to delegate that as much as possible. Most of my days are spent in meetings and phone conferences.

"In addition, RangeMan provides top-of-the-line security for business and private homes, both monitored and alarm-based. This is a very lucrative business and we've been taking on less and less FTA work because we no longer need it to keep the business prospering.

"Next, the men that I work with are mostly ex-military men. Because of their size and history, they tend to make goo security consultants. They are all large and strong men and a lot of people tend to be intimidated by them. But to be honest, that negative reputation actually works in our favour. If skips and criminals are afraid of us, they're less likely to cross us."

Mrs. Plum looked at me with wide eyes and said, "I guess I've always believed the rumours about your criminal activity. Thanks for clearing things up. You can call me Ellen if you want."

"Thanks Ellen. Why don't you call me Carlos?"

"What about Ranger? I thought that was your name?"

"That's more of a nickname. I acquired it while in the Rangers and I use it for work. I'd rather that my family calls me Carlos."

Ellen's facial expression showed her confusion so I said, but before I could say anything, she said, "Joseph always said that you would break Stephanie's heart. He told us that you wouldn't want anything long term from Stephanie. That's not true is it?"

"Not entirely. Two years ago, I did tell Stephanie that I couldn't have a relationship with her or anyone else. At the time, I was still running missions for the army and they were usually very dangerous. I didn't want to get involved with Steph or anyone for that matter if there was a likelihood that I wouldn't come home. I couldn't do that to her.

"I tried to stay away from your daughter, especially because she was with Morelli. He didn't like us spending time together and he really pushed Steph to keep away from me. Luckily for me, she couldn't stay away from me as much as I couldn't stay away from her. I was drawn to her and now that I'm done with my government contract, I finally admitted my feelings to myself and to Stephanie. We love each other and I want to marry her, but I've come here tonight to get yours and Frank's blessing."

I watched Ellen as my words sank in. I heard her mumble something that sounded, "He's not very Burg."

I laughed and said, "If Stephanie wanted Burg Ellen, she'd have married Joe years ago. I know I'm not Burg, but I will treat your daughter well and she'll never want for anything."

Ellen nodded and said, "OK, I suppose you can have my blessing Carlos."

I thanked her and was a little surprised when she walked towards me and gave me a small hug. I'd never even seen her hug her husband, let alone Stephanie, so this was a huge gesture. After checking on the food, we both emerged from the kitchen with huge grins on our face. Stephanie stood up and saw the look on her mother's face and grinned herself.

**_Stephanie's POV_**

I saw my mother smiling and knew that Carlos had won her over. I don't know what he said, but whatever it was, it worked and I grinned at him as they walked towards me.

My mother looked at my father and me and said, "Frank, dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes. Why don't you show Carlos the work you've been doing on the Buick?"

Dad looked up at me and then my mother before standing and motioning for Carlos to follow. I turned and looked at my mother who was smiling. She motioned for me to follow her into the kitchen and said, "Let's get dinner ready for the table."

I followed her apprehensively to the kitchen and once inside, I realised that Grandma Mazur wasn't around. "Where's Gran?"

"Oh, she's upstairs getting ready. She had a bit of a disaster at the Beauty Parlour today and I think she's trying to figure out a way to confidently wear her hair. She tried a dark rinse and it turned out a bit more blackberry in colour. Try not to stare when she comes down."

My mother and I spent the next 10 minutes dishing up food and I went to the dining room with 5 minutes to spare to set the table. I bit my tongue when Grandma Mazur came in to help. Her hair was a deep plum colour, so instead of covering it with a scarf in order to hide it, she added some gel and styled it into spikes. I smiled at her and watched my dad's and Carlos' reaction when they came in to the room.

Much to everyone's surprise, neither of the men seemed to even notice that something was different about Edna Mazur. Carlos greeter with a kiss on the cheek and my dad just ignored her as usual. We sat down and dad started carving the chicken as soon as the clock struck 6 PM.

Dinner conversation was pleasant and there was no mention of my past relationship failures. I can only guess that my mother accepted my relationship with Carlos. My father and Carlos carried on a conversation during the meal about their army experiences. At some point, we got on to the topic of Christmas. My mother asked, "Will you and Carlos be able to come here on Christmas morning?"

I looked at Carlos and he answered, "I have to work on Christmas morning from 6AM until noon. I take this shift every year so that my men are able to spend time with their friends and family."

My mother smiled and said, "Please join us for Christmas dinner then Carlos. It starts at 2PM sharp."

I smiled and said, "I'll come with Carlos because I'll need his help to bring my gifts for you and the girls. We'll arrive as soon as Carlos' shift ends so that there will be enough time to open presents before dinner."

After dessert, we were sitting around having coffee when Grandma Mazur asked, "If you two are seeing each other, does that mean you're going to move in together?"

I looked at Carlos and he put his arm around my shoulder. He said, "We were actually looking at houses this morning. We found two that we really liked, but we still have to sit down and discuss the pros and cons of each of them."

I reached into my purse and pulled out the real estate brochures for both properties and handed one to my mother and the other to my father.

"Wow, this house is enormous Pumpkin," my father said.

"I know. Carlos thinks we might need the extra space at some point, but all I see is so much space to clean. The other one is more my style for the time being."

My mother swapped brochures with my father and she gasped when she read about the house. "I see what you mean Steph, this house is massive. I guess RangeMan must be doing well if you can seriously consider a house this size."

I nodded at her sentiment and said, "I like the house, but the loft is far more size appropriate at this point in time. The garden is also beautiful. We originally wanted a house with a back yard, but the roof garden offers the same access to the outdoors in a beautiful setting. The view of Trenton is spectacular as well and it is very private. But as Carlos says, we need to sit down and talk about it and make a decision. We aren't in a huge rush. It's not like we each don't already have a place to live."

When we were leaving, I overheard Carlos promise my father that he'd bring some Cuban cigars with him on Christmas Day. They shook hands and then my mother did something that stopped Grandma Mazur and I mid conversation. She hugged Carlos and told him that she couldn't want for him to come back on Christmas Day. He winked at me, grabbed my hand and waved at my family as he led me out to the car.

Once on our way back to my apartment, Carlos looked over at me and said, "I think we should stay at my place tonight so we can sleep in a little later. We should also talk about the properties we saw today and decide if we want to make an offer."

I nodded and replied, "I need to get a few things from my apartment and then we can head over to RangeMan. As for the properties, I really liked them both, but I don't honestly see how we could use the house. There is so much space and we're only two people."

Carlos smiled at me and said, "Once we're in for the night, let me tell you about my vision for the house. Maybe once you hear my ideas you'll agree that it's not such a huge undertaking."

More to come..


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Preparing for the Holidays

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Typical FF disclaimers apply. Thanks for reading.

* * *

"Babe, I know the house is big, but here's my proposal. First, the basement would make a great home gym. The three car garage has plenty of room for the Porsches and an SUV. The six bedrooms are more than we need right now, but if we use one, we set one aside for Julie and two for guest rooms, that leaves two. One can be our office and the other can be outfitted with a large screen television, surround sound, and all the other essentials for a great home theatre.

"The guest house can be filled by whoever we hire to do our maintenance and housekeeping, and if they know something about horses, even better."

"Were you planning on buying a horse too Carlos?" I asked as I laughed.

"No Babe, the house comes with two horses. It's in the brochure."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I must have missed that. I didn't really read the brochure."

I really liked the apartment, so I said, "Carlos, I really liked that apartment. I think if we're going to live somewhere, it should be there."

Carlos nodded and said, "How about this, I'll put in an offer of the asking price for the apartment in the morning. I'll put in a very low offer for the house as well, but if they come back for a higher bid, I'll pass. If they are crazy enough to sell for the price I offer, we'd be crazy to pass it up. The house will need a lot of work to make it ready for us to live there. We could end up being in the apartment for up to a year. Maybe by then, we'll want a bit more space."

I agreed to Carlos' suggestion and we went to bed that night content in our plan to move forward with our life together.

When Carlos and I walked onto the 5th floor the following morning, all eyes were on us. The guys were still curious if we were engaged or not, but neither Carlos nor I was saying anything. We both went our own way and I worked at my cubicle until my growling stomach forced me into the kitchen to get something to eat for lunch.

Carlos came in moments later and said, "Babe, I just heard back from Lynn. The owner of the apartment has accepted our offer. She has also gratefully accepted our admittance for her to access the roof. She did say that there was an alternate access that had been blocked off years ago and she'd be willing to pay for it to be opened again. I told Lynn that I would take care of that as soon as we exchanged keys."

I grinned and hugged Carlos. "That's great news. When can we move in? I have to give notice on my apartment and pack and stuff. And it's the holidays. Everything will be crazy and busy and..."

"Calm down Babe, we can't exchange the keys until the New Year. It will take us a little while to get everything arranged with the lawyers, but the apartment also has no furniture. We'll have to buy pretty much everything. I don't want to take the furniture from my 7th floor apartment because Tank will probably move in there and need it furnished."

I breathed a sigh of relief because moving in the near future would have caused a bit of a panic attack that would have taken a bit to overcome. I smiled at the idea of living with Ranger in our own place, but if we did this, it was as a precursor to marriage and we both knew it.

The afternoon went by relatively quickly. At 4:45, my cell phone rang and I looked down to see my sister's number. Val rarely calls me, and if she does, something is usually wrong. I answered a bit apprehensively, waiting to hear the bad news.

"Hey Steph, I just got off the phone with Mom and she says that you might be moving out of your apartment." Without waiting for me to reply, she went on. "Do you think you could put in a good word for us? We've been evicted from our house because the owner is selling and we don't have enough saved up to buy a house of our own."

"Calm down Val. Mom is right, I'll be leaving my apartment, but how will you and the girls fit into my apartment? It only has one bedroom and it's not very big."

"We'll make do. We managed with three of us in your old bedroom with Mom and Dad, we can adapt to this too."

"OK Val, I'll see I'll see you and the girls on Christmas day. We'll get to the house around one."

Once off the phone, I thought about Val's life and how hard it would be on the girls to live cramped in my apartment. It wouldn't be very fun for them and Val and Albert wouldn't get much privacy. I was still thinking about how to help Val when Carlos came up behind me and kissed me behind the ear.

"Deep thoughts Babe?"

"I just got off the phone with Val. The house where she and Albert are living has just been put on the market by the owner. They haven't managed to save for a down payment and since my mom mentioned that I was moving, she was asking about my apartment."

"They can't all live in your old apartment Babe. Maybe I have a better solution. I just got off the phone with Lynn and she says that the house is ours if we want it. They accepted the very low price I offered because they're desperate to sell so they can buy another property out of state. They're so keen to finish this that they're willing to pay for our lawyer fees to get it expedited before the end of the year."

I was overwhelmed by this and had no idea what to say. We went from looking at two beautiful properties to practically owning both of them within 24 hours. It was a lot to get my head around.

Carlos must have sensed my apprehension because he pulled me to my feet and led me to the elevator. Once we were inside his apartment, he sat down on the sofa and pulled me onto his lap.

"Babe, I have an idea that will help Val and her family as well as us."

I raised my eyebrows in question and he said, "Val and Albert can't save for their own house because they've been raising three girls and paying rent. What if we offered them the guest house rent-free for the next several months? We could hire Val to be our building project manager and you could work with her to furnish and decorate the house. That way they could save for their own house and have somewhere to live that is big enough for their whole family."

I smiled at Carlos. This was a wonderful idea. "I think this is the equivalent of us giving Mary Alice a horse for Christmas. We'll have to come up with something equally spectacular for Angie. I hope you have a good idea there. She's 11 years old, a book worm and very proper. "

The grin slipped ever so slightly from Carlos' face. "I never even thought of that. I'll have to ask Woody for some help with the horses. I'll call my sister Celia to find out if she has any ideas of what to buy Angie. She's a year older than Julie, so it shouldn't be that hard."

I laughed and said, "She's a hard kid to please. Last year I bought her a set of children's encyclopaedias and she turned her nose up at them and said they were for babies."

Carlos sat and thought for a few minutes and then started to grin. "I know, we'll get her a laptop that comes with all sorts of educational software and then make sure that the guest house is equipped with Wi-Fi."

"Oooh, that's a great idea. Good thing it's only the 23rd. We can go out tonight and pick up the laptop and then Hector can help load it with all the necessary security software."

"Actually Babe, why don't you let me go out and you stay home and talk to your sister. I just want you to find out if she'd be open to a job as a project manager for us, don't mention the house just yet. She would be able to keep Lisa with her during the day as long as she feels it is safe."

I narrowed my eyes up at Ranger. I could tell he was up to something but I didn't have a clue what that could be so I said, "I'll let you go pick up the laptop, but I will need to go out and pick up a few other last minute gifts. I'll call Val first though, and talk to her about the job. Good thing that shops are open late tonight. I'll see you back here when I'm done."

Ranger kissed me quickly and then head back to his office. I was pretty much done for the day so I shut down my computer and headed upstairs to call Val. I wasn't completely sure how she'd react to the suggestion of working for Carlos and me, even if it was temporarily. I also would try to avoid the whole apartment conversation because Carlos would talk to them more on Christmas day.

I sat on the sofa and dialled my phone, expecting to have a short conversation because it was getting near that time where Val would be getting dinner ready. When Val answered, it was quiet in the background and she seemed quite calm.

"Hey Val, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No, it's actually a great time. Albert just took all three girls out to get some pizza for dinner. I was a bit stressed out about the whole house thing so Albert took pity on me."

"That's nice of Albert. I actually called to ask a favour Val, but if you can't, please don't feel bad."

"OK, this sounds ominous," Val said.

"Well, Carlos has decided to buy that house, but it requires a lot of work before it will be ready for us to actually live there. Most of the work is aesthetic, but we will need some building work to be done. The favour we'd like to ask is for you to be our project manager. Since Ranger and I both work full-time, it will be hard for us to manage all the work that is needed and we thought you might be interested. You will be able to keep Lisa with you and you and I can work together for the decorating parts of the job."

When I was finished, I sat and waited for Val to answer. She was silent for a long time, so I hesitantly said, "Val, are you still there?"

"Oh, yes Steph, I'm sorry. I was just a bit overwhelmed that you and Ranger would trust me with something like this. It's a huge responsibility and honour."

"It was actually he who suggested you for this job. And from now on, you can call him Carlos. Ranger is a name he uses for work only, not with friends and family. If you are interested, we can talk more on Christmas day. We'll likely have the keys to the house before the end of the year, so we can get an idea of the amount of work ahead of us. "

I could hear Val smiling over the phone when she said, "This really sounds fun Steph. I can't wait to see it and help you with the home you deserve."

"Thanks Val, I'm sure we'll have a blast working together. When Carlos first told me that his crazy low offer was accepted, I was overwhelmed and a little disappointed. The house is too big for us, but that might not always be the case. Now I'm actually getting excited."

I heard the door open and a rush of feet and sound assaulted me. The girls and Albert were back with dinner so I said, "I'll see you and your family on Christmas day Val. We'll talk more about the job then."

"Thanks Steph, and thank Carlos as well. I will see you guys in a couple of days. Bye."

Once I was off the phone with Val, I walked into the kitchen to get a snack. If I was going to brave the wilds of the shopping mall this time of night, I'd need fortification. After a quick snack, I headed down to the garage where I met Lester.

"Where are you off to Beautiful?"

"I'm going to finish my Christmas shopping. The crowds will be a bit crazy but I have a few last minute things to pick up."

Lester laughed and said, "That's where I'm heading. I haven't even started mine. Do you mind if I join you? Maybe we can help each other out?"

"Sure, that sounds more fun than my original plan."

I jumped into Lester's SUV and we headed off to the mall. Three hours later, the SUV was filled to the brim with gifts for mine and Lester's family. We carried all of our purchases into the conference room on the 5th floor and started wrapping them using the rolls and rolls of wrapping paper we purchased.

When I next looked at my watch, it was nearing midnight and I was exhausted. I looked up at Lester and said, "I'm going to have to finish the rest of this tomorrow. I'm tired and I want to get to bed."

Lester nodded and pulled in two trolleys that were usually used by Ella to transport food around the building. He loaded his presents onto one and I did the same to for the other. We both wheeled the trolleys to the elevator and went our separate ways when Lester got off on the 4th floor. I continued up to the 7th floor and called for Carlos when I wheeled the trolley inside.

Carlos didn't answer so I looked through the apartment to find that I was alone. I took the opportunity to hide the presents I bought for Carlos and moved the rest to the dining table and then returned the trolley to the 6th floor storage area.

By the time I got back to the apartment, Carlos was inside surrounded by his own pile of presents. He smiled up at me when I came in and walked over and wrapped me in his arms. "Hey Babe, I see you were as busy as I was this evening. Did you get everything you needed?"

"I think so. I still need to pick up one last gift for my father, but I can't do that until tomorrow night. I want to get him a Panettone but I want to get it fresh from the bakery tomorrow afternoon. I had to order it three months ago, but it won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon. You can usually buy the bread months in advance, but my dad prefers it fresh. HE said that after sitting, the bread takes on the flavour of the fruit and it ruins the bread."

"Let's leave the wrapping until tomorrow Babe. RangeMan is only fully up and running for ½ the day tomorrow so I'm just on call for the afternoon and evening. We rarely ever have any calls, so we should be able to have a quiet night in."

I liked the sound of a quiet night in because I knew that Christmas afternoon with my family was going to be chaotic at best. I took Ranger's hand and pulled him into the bedroom and when we finally fell asleep a few hours later, we earned our rest.

The next morning we awoke to a crisp and cold morning. So far this winter, the weather was much warmer than usual. It was nice to see frost and ice just in time for Christmas. Maybe we'd end up with a White Christmas after all. Carlos must have sensed my thoughts as I stood in front of the window and said, "The forecast says it is supposed to snow over night."

I smiled and picked up my cup of coffee. I took a sip and then placed it on the table and said, "Let's get downstairs. We don't want to be late today. I have a bunch of gifts to hand out."

"You didn't buy gifts for all of the men did you?"

"I did. All of them bought me the most wonderful gifts so I wanted to get them each something to show how much special they are to me. Unfortunately, I couldn't spend as much on them as they did on me, but I'm hoping they will like what I got for them. I tried to get something ideal for each of them."

"I'm sure they'll love whatever you give them Babe, just because it came from you."

I picked up a huge bag filled with over two dozen gifts and headed to the door. Just before I got there, Carlos grabbed me by the elbow and kissed me like it was the last chance he'd get in a while. When he pulled away, we were both breathless. Carlos smiled down at me and said, "Let's get to work Babe."

I took Carlos' outstretched hand and followed him to the elevator. We worked for a few hours and just before lunch time I took my huge bag and started playing Santa by giving gifts to all of the Merry Men.

Hal was chuffed with his punching men game. Lester roared with laughter when he opened his box of assorted condoms. Tank was very pleased with his box of cat treats and Bobby loved his DVD box set of his favourite movies. The other guys were not left out. Each man who gave me a secret Santa gift received a gift in return, and each of them was extremely grateful.

After wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Carlos and I headed upstairs for a quiet afternoon and evening. Ella outdid herself. She prepared an extravagant meal for us to rival the one that would be prepared by my mother tomorrow. Carlos and I ate, drank and enjoyed our alone time together.

At midnight, Ranger and I exchanged our gifts for each other. We each held one back so we could open it with my family the following day. Carlos and I sat beside each other on the sofa wrapped in a cosy blanket. He handed me a large wrapped box and I handed him a box of similar size.

Carlos insisted that I open my present first, so I acted like a child and quickly ripped into the paper. Carlos laughed when he saw my enthusiasm and encouraged me to hurry. When I pulled the lid from the box, I gasped. Inside the box was the most beautiful dress I have ever laid eyes on. It was such a pale shade of blue that it was almost white. I pulled the dress out and held it up to myself and loved it immediately.

"Oh Carlos, this is beautiful. I can't wait to wear it."

"I thought it would work well on New Year's Eve for my family gathering. We always dress up for dinner and dancing. There's more in the box Babe."

I looked back in the box and saw a beautiful pair of nude FMPs and a small box that contained a beautiful platinum and blue topaz necklace. The jewellery would match the dress perfectly. I looked at the dress again and noticed that it was actually quite long. It was almost floor length, but it wasn't puffy like a lot of other dresses that length. It was A-line and had little flirty short sleeves that were made of translucent chiffon of the same colour as the dress. It was absolutely gorgeous and I really loved it.

Carlos watched me as I inspected the dress. He smiled and said, "It will look beautiful on you Babe."

I thanked Carlos with a long drawn out kiss, but pulled away before we both got a little carried away. I pointed to his box and he silently obeyed and started unwrapping. As usual, Carlos took his time and took care not to rip the paper. Once he finally pulled the paper away from the box, he opened his box and grinned.

Inside his box was a blue button up shirt. The colour wasn't quite dark enough to be considered navy, but it was darker that royal blue. The shirt was made out of very finely woven cotton and it had a pattern woven into the shirt. I had it made for Carlos with Ella's help. She knew his measurements and we used his usual tailor. It took us a few days to pick out the fabric, and once I selected the blue, I also decided on a maroon colour and a cream colour. He pulled each shirt out of the box in turn and smiled.

"They're beautiful Babe. They're exactly the colours I would have picked out for myself. Thank you very much."

I smiled at Carlos and leaned into him when he reached over for a kiss. I pulled back and smiled at Carlos. "There's more in the box Carlos."

Carlos looked down and pulled the tissue paper aside and found a small jewellery box. He opened it and gasped when he saw the tie clip and matching money clip inside.

"They're perfect Babe. I know just the tie to wear with this blue shirt tomorrow as well."

Carlos kissed me again and we set our packages aside and settled into bed for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and Carlos would have an early start. I fell asleep after making love and the last thought on my mind was how excited I was to take Carlos home with me for Christmas.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Christmas Day

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All the usual FF disclaimers.

Also, I'm really sorry if anyone got a notice and ended up reading the 6th chapter before this one was posted. I only realised my error when I saw that I was previewing Chapter 6.

The next chapter will be reviewed and posted tomorrow. Thanks for the reviews and reading.

* * *

Carlos got up at 5:30 and told me to go back to sleep. I accepted a quick kiss and he was out the door. I decided around 7:30 that I should get up and by 8:30, I was down in the control room with Carlos. Not much was happening on the monitors so I decided to keep him company.

We decided to approach Val and Albert about living in our guest house until the main house was ready for us to move in. We would offer Val a job as a RangeMan employee with the typical starting salary to manage the building work for the house. We would not charge them rent for the guest house because they were doing us a favour. They would be able to keep an eye on the house and hopefully even take care of the horses.

When Ranger talked to Woody about the horses, he offered to teach any of us that were interested how to ride. I was pretty sure that Mary Alice would jump at the chance and I was also interested. Once I was able to ride confidently, I could take Mary Alice out at any time. Carlos also expressed an interest so it could turn out to be a whole family affair.

Ranger was relieved at 12:00 by two junior employees. They wished him each other a Merry Christmas and we headed upstairs to get ready for the rest of the day with my family. Carlos changed into a pair of charcoal dress pants, his new blue shirt, a complementary tie and his new tie clip. He looked amazing.

I wore a knee length, long-sleeved wrap around dress that floated when I twirled. The dress was a dark cranberry red colour that made my eyes seem brighter than usual. I was wearing black strappy heels, a ruby and gold necklace and a huge smile.

Carlos greeted me with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. He was smart enough to realise that the effort I put into my cranberry red lipstick would be ruined if he kissed me on the lips. "Are you ready to go Babe?"

I nodded and said, "Do we have all of the presents?"

Carlos pointed to two huge bags and a box by the door. "I think so. If not, we can run back later if needed."

We grabbed the bags and the box and headed down to the car. I was a little sad when we had to take the Cayenne because the presents wouldn't fit into the Turbo, but I got over it. We pulled up in front of my parents' house and found ourselves surrounded by my nieces, sister and Grandma Mazur before we even had the presents out of the trunk.

Albert and my father came out to help moments later, and between the 8 of us, we easily carried all of the presents inside the house. I greeted my father with a kiss on the cheek, looked in on my mother in the kitchen. She was busy rushing about getting things ready. She wished me a Merry Christmas and asked me to send Grandma Mazur in to help her.

I relayed the request to my grandmother and then asked to speak to Val and Albert in the dining room. The table was already set so we took care not to disturb anything. Val looked at us and asked, "Have you changed your mind about getting me to help with the house?"

Carlos smiled and said, "No, but we have a proposal for you and Albert in addition to the job."

Albert looked at Val and said, "Go ahead."

"While the house is being worked on, we'd like you and your family to live in the guest house. It has three bedrooms and is only a few years old, so everything is in working order. Since nobody will be in the main house, you'll be pretty much on-site for your job and you'll be helping us by being nearby when the house is unoccupied."

Albert paled and said, "I'm not sure we can afford the rent on a place like that."

Carlos nodded and said, "We would consider your proximity to our unoccupied house as payment enough. We don't expect any rent on top of that. It will make our insurance much more affordable. Insuring an unoccupied house is very expensive. This way we can say that even though the main house is unoccupied, there is a presence on the property."

Val and Albert looked at each other and smiled. They turned back to us and Val said, "I don't know how to thank you guys. You've always come through for me and the girls when we've needed something. We will do this on one condition."

I watched as Carlos raised an eyebrow and Val continued. "If we move in there, you must let me do the building work for free. It will be really fun to do and I think you've done enough by letting us live there."

Carlos laughed and said, "I won't force a salary on you, but I think you'd have far more success wrangling the builders if you actually are a RangeMan employee. It will also make things easier from a legal standpoint if you are my employee. Please reconsider."

Albert was the one who spoke next, "How long would the building work take? The longer the timeframe, the more reasonable a salary would be for us Val."

I smiled at Al's logic. He was trying to figure out a way to accept Carlos' offer without appearing weak. I answered his question by saying, "We don't know how long the work will take because we haven't even brought a builder around to give us a quote. A guess would be between 6 months and a year. Why don't you think about your options? We'll get the keys next week and you can come and take a look."

Val and Albert agreed to decide once they've seen the place and we all went back into the lounge to join my father. Almost as soon as we entered, my father dragged Carlos out to the garage. I can only assume that they were smoking cigars and talking manly things. Valerie looked at me and the look in her eye showed me that she wished Albert was joining them. I caught Carlos' eye just before he left and he was able to read my mind and said, "Why don't you join us Albert?" Albert's face light up and he rushed out of the room and followed my father and Carlos.

Val and I watched as the men we loved left with our father. We both grinned at each other and went back into the lounge and joined the girls. As soon as I sat down, Lisa waddled over to me on her two-year old limbs and climbed onto my lap. "Well hello there Lisa." The little girl smiled up at me and said, "An Stephie, I is walking." I laughed and hugged her as she struggled to get down to the floor.

Mary Alice and Angie greeted me, but since all the men were currently AWOL, gift giving would have to wait. Instead, they helped us put all of our presents under the tree. List held up a present that Angie said was for her and she shook it and tried to figure out what it was. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Open now Stephie?" I looked over at Val who shook her head and replied, "Let's wait until Daddy, Granddad and Uncle Carlos come back before we open presents. Grandma is also busy in the kitchen right now and I'm sure she'd want to watch you open your presents."

The look on Lisa's face said it all. She wanted to open her presents and she wanted to do it now. Unfortunately, the men were out in the garage, smoking illegal cigars. We'd just have to wait until they come back before opening presents. I wasn't too impatient. This would give me an opportunity to talk to Val about the house and the job we offered her.

After twenty minutes of talking, Val agreed to move to the guest house and to take the RangeMan job. She understood that Carlos was doing this mainly to help them save up for their own house, but she was thankful enough not to dwell on it.

When the men finally returned, there was only a half hour before lunch. I checked with my mother and everything was pretty much taken care of so she agreed to come out of the kitchen so we could open presents.

Mary Alice was playing Santa Claus. She handed out all of the presents from under the tree and made a small pile for her to open once she was finished. Angie was over the moon with her laptop. When Carlos explained some of the software applications on the laptop, she stood and walked over to hug Carlos. He returned the hug and said, "It was nothing Angie. Your Aunt Steph and I just wanted to make sure that you had the necessary tools to become the smart woman we envisage you to become."

Angie ran over to me and hugged me next. Lisa was happy with her toys and Mary Alice wasn't sure what to say when we explained that her gift was some horse riding lessons and the care of a horse or two. We didn't want to tell her that her new house would have horse stables and a paddock, just in case Val and Albert decided not to move there, so we kept quiet.

Carlos grinned at me when Albert explained to Mary Alice that they'd be moving in the New Year and that their new house had some stables and a couple of horses. It would be her responsibility to take care of them, which Mary Alice accepted with a level of maturity that exceeded her young age.

Carlos smiled at me as Grandma Mazur opened a present that contained two new leisure suits. One was plum coloured and the other was black. She held them up and kissed both Carlos and I to express her thanks.

Dad was very happy with his Panattone and new sweater and my mother seemed very happy with her new mixer unit. It was top of the line and I never would have bought it for her without Carlos' insistence and credit card.

Val and Albert were both given nice clothes and I gave Carlos a really nicely framed picture of him and me. The picture was much nicer than the one I gave him for the Secret Santa and the frame was made from sliver and definitely not bought at the dollar store.

The only gift left was Carlos' gift to me. He left it to last on purpose and he waited until he had everyone's attention before he handed me a small box. I opened it and found the same ring he tried to give me the week before. This time, he looked down at me and said, "Babe, I know things between us have been different lately. I know that you wanted to know me better before we did this, and I know that you wanted to be sure that this was meant to last before moving forward.

"I've opened up and you've accepted me for who I am. We've bought a house and we've agreed to be together. Now, the only thing that would make my life perfect would be if you agreed to be my wife. Babe, will you marry me?"

I listened to the words Carlos was saying and felt the tears fill my eyes. Things hadn't changed a whole lot between us since he last asked me, but I now knew that he was serious. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of mine with him.

I looked up into his warm brown eyes and said, "Of course Carlos, I would be honoured to be your wife. I will marry you."

When I answered him, he picked me up in his arms and slipped the ring on my finger. I looked down at my finger and saw a huge diamond ring. Of course it was larger than I would have ever expected of anyone but Carlos. He wanted the best for me and this ring was just that. I looked back up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck and laughed as the rest of my family congratulated us.

After a round of congratulations, we sat down to lunch. The conversation was pleasant and my mother seemed to fixate on details for the wedding. Both Carlos and I were a little apprehensive of some of her suggestions, but we'd talk about it later. I knew we wouldn't let my mother take over and turn our wedding into something Burg-tastic.

At one point during the lunch, my mother directed a question to Carlos that I wish I'd asked myself. "Carlos, what about your family. Do you not spend time together during the holidays?"

Carlos smiled slightly and said, "My family is pretty much spread across the whole country. Most of my siblings have their own family so we started joining together on New Year's Eve instead of Christmas. It allows each of us to have our own Christmas and then we gather at the New Year as a family. It seems to work for us, or has for the past decade at least."

Everybody seemed to accept this explanation and we moved onto discussing our new house. Everyone was really excited that we would be moving. My mother expressed interest in helping us with the decoration and I gladly accepted her help because she knew how to accessorise like all Burg women. I wouldn't let her take over, but I'd let her help.

After lunch, we sat around the lounge together and talked about lots of things. Mary Alice asked 101 questions about the horses at her new house, but we were unable to answer them all. We promised her that if she wrote down her questions and gave them to us, we'd do our best to answer them when she came to visit next.

While we were clearing the table, I saw Carlos take my mother aside and have a short conversation with her. I wasn't sure what they were talking about but I was pretty sure that Carlos got his way based on the grin he was sporting as he walked away from my mother. Actually, on second thought, my mother was also grinning. What on earth had they discussed? Carlos refused to tell me, even after we were in the car on the way home. Carlos just said that he was just making nice with his future Mother-in-law and I should be happy that they were getting along.

When we returned to RangeMan, Carlos wanted to stop off on the 4th floor to check on the guys. Sometimes they went a bit overboard at this time of the year and he just wanted to make sure that they were OK. As soon as Lester saw us, he looked at my hand and screamed his congratulations. Anyone within earshot, and that appeared to be most of RangeMan because they were having a party, surrounded us and hugged us as they congratulated us.

By the time that Carlos and I made it to bed that night, we were almost too exhausted to celebrate our new status. I did say almost right? We made love for hours that night and collapsed into a dreamless and very restful sleep.

My last thought that night was that I was going to be Mrs. Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I liked the sound of that. I liked the sound of Stephanie Manoso. I must have mumbled that in my sleep because I heard Carlos whisper, "I like the sound of that Babe. Stephanie Manoso is a great name and I'm positive that you'll do it proud." I closed my eyes, safe in the knowledge that I was loved, and with that knowledge I knew no more that day.

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There will be two more chapters to follow. Hopefully they won't take too long.

L.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6. New Year's Day

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Since it was actually ready early, I figured I'd publish this a day early. The next and final chapter will not be up until Tuesday.

Thanks for reading and enjoy.

* * *

The days between Christmas Day and New Year's Day went by in a blur. Carlos spent almost all of his time on the phone with the Lynn, the Lawyer and his family. When he came back up to the apartment in the evening, he was pretty excited to talk about the house, the apartment or introducing me to his family.

We got the keys to the house on the 29th of December. I called Val and we agreed to meet at the house so they could see the guest house and make their final decision. I was getting ready and when I came out of the bedroom, I found Carlos talking in hushed tones on the phone.

I could have sworn he was talking to my mother but when I asked him about it, he effectively changed the subject by kissing me. It wasn't until we were in the car that I realised what he had done and that made me suspicious. Luckily for Carlos, his hushed phone conversation slipped my mind when we arrived at the house and showed Val, Albert and the girls around.

Mary Alice was so happy to see the horses and Lisa was happy to see her Uncle Carlos. She begged him to pick her up and he kept a hold of her even after she fell asleep. Angie was ecstatic to see that she would be able to have her own room and Val and Albert were overwhelmed at the sheer size of the guest house. If they had doubts before now, they evaporated when they saw the house. They gratefully accepted the guest house and the job for Val and hugs went all around.

Val and I walked around the main house and Val impressed me with her interior decorating knowledge. She made several suggestions on changes to the kitchen to make it more useable. I was glad for that because I didn't know what layout would be best. Val said that it looked like the old kitchen was installed for a person who had no idea how to cook. If I was going to make an effort there or if Carlos wanted to cook, a better layout was needed. I smiled at the idea of cooking with Carlos and followed Val around the house.

Val had tonnes of ideas and it was perfectly clear to me that she was the right person for the job. I'm sure there are other people, who are technically more qualified, but Val and Albert could do with the money and I trusted her. A stranger wouldn't be as easy to trust and they might not take my personal requests as serious as Valerie would. I was really looking forward to working with her.

We handed Val and Albert the keys to their new home and told them that they could move in at any time. Since they didn't need to be out of their current house until the end of January, they could take their time moving. Before we all left, Val hugged me tightly and said, "I know you and Carlos are doing this to help us save for our own house, and we are so grateful."

I smiled at Val and replied, "We get something out of this too Val. I respect your decorating skills and we trust you to help us with our house. We need somebody to be in the guest house and why shouldn't it be you and your family? It's as much a favour for us as it is for you. We love you guys and we want to make things a little easier if we can."

Albert shook Carlos' hand vigorously and thanked him for the umpteenth time. Carlos smiled graciously and then handed a sleeping Lisa back to Albert and we walked them out to their car. On the drive back to RangeMan, Carlos picked up my hand and said, "I think they'll really love it there Babe. I even have to admit that Albert is growing on me. When I've met him before, I thought he was a bit dim witted. He's actually very intelligent and has a lot of insight and knowledge about a wide array of topics. I laughed when he told me that your parents intimidate him and he starts blabbering like a fool and acts like an idiot when he's there. I am looking forward to helping him win over your parents in the future."

The next day, we discussed when we wanted to get married. We both agreed that we didn't want a big wedding nor did we want to wait. My mother had already made enquiries at the typical Burg reception locations and none were available for at least 8 months. This was actually fine with us because we didn't want a Burg wedding and 8 months was a long way away. Carlos promised to look into suitable alternatives and I agreed to let him. I couldn't wait to be married to Carlos. I wanted to be his wife more than I have ever wanted anything before.

On New Year's Eve, Carlos and I were getting ready to meet his family in Newark. We would be joining them at a restaurant that they visited every year on New Year's Eve. They hired the back room and the entire family gathered there, even those that lived far away. I would be the first person that Carlos ever brought to this or any other family gathering so I was extremely nervous.

Carlos entered the bedroom on his way for a shower. He sensed my nervousness and hugged me. "Don't worry Babe, they'll love you. You are going to be my wife and that alone will make them love you. I've never even hinted at loving another woman so they'll be interested in knowing everything about you. I'm pretty sure they already know about you because Julie is visiting and I'm sure she's filled them in on everything she knows about you."

"Julie will be there? Why didn't you tell me before? I'd have gotten her a gift."

"That's OK Babe, I put your name on the one I sent down to Florida."

"That's not the same Carlos and you know it."

"Sorry Babe, I should have mentioned it. You can make it up to her when we visit her down in Miami in February. I have to go down to do a review of the office there and I figured you might want to join me so you could see Julie and spend some time with her and maybe even Rachel."

I nodded and said, "That sounds like it would be nice, now hurry up and get ready. We need to get going soon."

While he showered, I got dressed and then went out into the living room to put on my jewellery and shoes. I heard the shower turn off and the rustling of drawers and the closet doors and fantasised about what Carlos was going to wear. I knew no matter what he wore that he'd look amazing. I wasn't disappointed.

He walked out of the bedroom wearing his new cream shirt, a blue tie and a black tailored suit. He was also wearing his new tie clip and was staring at me. He looked delicious in his suit and I grinned widely as he walked towards me with his own smile. "Babe, you look absolutely stunning. You look better than I imagined you would when I bought the dress. My imagination did you little justice."

I smiled up at Carlos and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him on the neck and said, "You look delicious yourself Carlos. I can't wait to get you back here later tonight so I can undress you."

"Hold that thought Babe," Carlos grinned down at me. "Let's get going. We have a bit of a drive ahead of us."

Carlos and I climbed into his Turbo and headed towards Newark. When we arrived, Carlos introduced me to dozens of people. I would never remember all of their names, but at least I could recognise them. Carlos looked exactly like his father and all of this sisters looked exactly like their mother. The family resemblance was incredible.

After I made the rounds and was introduced to the entire Manoso clan, I realised that there were several Merry Men there. I looked around the room and I also saw Connie, Lula and Mary Lou and her family. A few minutes later, my family walked into the room and were then introduced to Carlos' family.

Carlos pulled me aside and said, "Babe, I hope it's OK with you that I involved all of our friends and family. I have a small surprise for you if you're up for it."

I looked at Carlos with surprise and said, "What kind of surprise is that?"

"A family friend who is also a priest is here tonight. He has agreed to marry us at the stroke of midnight if that's what we want. We have all of our friends and family here, and we're kind of dressed for the occasion. They're all here assuming that we're celebrating our engagement, but they could be here to witness our wedding."

I looked up at Carlos with disbelief. "Are you serious? You want to get married tonight?"

"I'm dead serious Babe. I don't need a big wedding. All I need is you. I've already talked to your Father and he has agreed to walk you down the aisle if that's what you want. Just say the word Babe and you can become my wife tonight."

Carlos' eyes were warm and his grin was intoxicating. I looked at him and smiled. "I think a wedding would be a fun way to welcome in the New Year. Of course we can get married tonight. I'd love nothing more."

Carlos hugged me tightly and said, "OK then Babe. I just need to talk to the Priest and your Dad. Nobody else knows what's going on and I think we should keep it that way. At 11:45, I will talk to a couple of the guys and see if they'll stand up for me. You can do the same."

I nodded and took Carlos' hand as he led me back to the others. We moved around the room and greeted all of our friends and family. We were both relieved when Grandma Mazur was dressed nicely and wasn't causing a scene. In fact, she was sitting beside Carlos' Abuela and they were having a lovely conversation about the changing times. It was amusing to watch because Abuela Rosa doesn't speak much English and as far as we were aware, Grandma Mazur spoke little Spanish. That's where we were wrong. Grandma Mazur was chattering away in Spanish with Abuela Rosa like they were long lost friends.

Carlos and I stood and stared at them for a good 10 minutes before we were interrupted by Lula. "Damn White Girl, I didn't know your Granny spoke Spanish. She's full of surprises that one."

Tank came and joined our conversation. He and Lula had broken up the year before, but based on the eyes they were making each other. Their breakup was a reluctant parting of the ways. Her allergies and his cats caused a rift that might be salvageable. Only time would tell.

Looking around the room, my eyes fell on Mary Lou. She was having an animated conversation with Val. No doubt they were talking about the guest house. Looking around further, I found Lester. He seemed to be chatting up one of the waitresses, but she mustn't have liked something he said because she slapped him across the face and walked away. Despite this particular failure, Lester was grinning like a fool and caught my eye. He winked at me and moved on to his next victim, or should I say target? Eddie and Shirley were mingling, and Big Dog and Carl were laughing with Lenny.

At 7:30, we all sat together for a wonderful meal and my family got to know Carlos' family. My mother and Carlos' mother Maria were exchanging recipes. My father and Carlos' father Ricardo were discussing the merits of American made cars. I even saw my sister talking with several of Carlos' sisters and sisters-in-law. It looked like they all got along well enough to be in the same room. That boded well for future family get-togethers.

Carlos' family was very nice to me and they all seemed both surprised and happy to welcome me to their family. When everyone was finished eating, Ricardo made a speech that was sweet and full of stories about Carlos as a child as he officially welcomed me to his family. My father even stood and proposed a toast to Carlos and I that was also warm and brought tears to my eyes. Afterward, Carlos and I accepted congratulatory hugs and handshakes from every single person in the room.

At 11:45, Carlos held up his glass and clinked it to get everyone's attention. "Dear friends and family, we'd like to thank you so much for joining us to celebrate our good news. I'd also like to apologise to my family for hijacking our usually quiet annual get-together with our engagement party.

"What we didn't tell you when you were invited is that tonight's celebration isn't just an engagement party. At the stroke of midnight tonight, Stephanie and I will exchange our vows and become man and wife."

The room erupted with cheers and congratulations. The look on the faces of everyone in the room was priceless. As soon as the cheering died down, Lula and Mary Lou rushed over to hug me and to make sure that I had everything I needed. Mary Lou handed me a blue handkerchief. That could be my something borrowed and blue. Lula pulled off her mother's bracelet and slid it on my wrist so I had something old.

"There White Girl, now you can get married."

I smiled at both women and hugged them tightly to me. "Thanks so much. Will you both stand up for me? I can't imagine doing this without the two of you alongside me."

Both of them readily nodded and squealed with delight. I directed them to the back of the room and went to talk to Carlos. I explained to him that I asked Lula and Mary Lou to stand up for me and he smiled. "You might want to add another person Babe. I asked Tank, Lester and Bobby to stand up for me."

I nodded and looked around the room. I made my decision as soon as I saw Val and walked over to her. I took her hand and led her to the back of the room and said, "Val, would you be my Maiden of Honour?"

Val hugged me and nodded with tears in her eyes. She smiled at me and joined Mary Lou and Lula. My Dad walked over, took my arm and said, "You ready Pumpkin?"

I nodded and we walked to the back of the room with one minute to go. Mary Lou and Lester walked down the aisle first, followed by Lula and Bobby and then Tank and Val. Finally it was my turn, and instead of the usual bridal march music, I walked down the aisle to the local church bells ringing in the New Year.

The grin on Carlos' face was contagious. When my father and I reached the front where Carlos was standing with the priest and our wedding party, he kissed me and whispered, "Carlos is a good man Babe. Be happy pumpkin."

I smiled at my father as tears filled my eyes. I kissed him on his cheek and watched him place my hand on Carlos' before he walked over to stand beside my mother.

I looked up at Carlos and grinned bigger than I have ever smiled before. The Priest smiled at everyone and said, "I would like to welcome the friends and family of Stephanie and Carlos. You are all here to witness this impromptu union of Carlos and Stephanie so let's not waste time and get this show on the road."

The Priest looked at me and asked me to repeat some words. I barely paid attention, only mimicking what he said when he asked. My entire focus was on Carlos and his beautiful smile. Next, Carlos repeated the same words. I had a minor moment of panic when the Priest asked if we had the rings, but Carlos just smiled and nodded.

The Priest handed me a ring and once again asked me to repeat after him. When I was finished, I slipped a beautiful ring onto Carlos' hand and listened as Carlos did the same. Carlos' ring was platinum and titanium and it had the same swirl pattern that was on my engagement ring. My wedding ring matched both Carlos' band and my engagement ring perfectly. I couldn't have picked a better one if I tried.

When the Priest finally said pronounced us husband and wife, Carlos pulled me towards him for a kiss before the Priest said those infamous words. The entire crowd laughed at Carlos' hastiness, but I barely registered their reaction. I was too busy experiencing my first kiss as Mrs. Ricardo Carlos Manoso to pay them much attention.

When we finally pulled apart, we were receiving catcalls for our lengthy display. My mother looked a bit embarrassed, but she was smiling anyway. It seems that her happiness for me overshadowed her discomfort at my overtly publish display of affection for my new husband.

When we finally greeted everyone and thanked them for being here with us today, Carlos leaned over and said, "Let's get out of here Babe. We have a honeymoon to get to."

I smiled up at Carlos and asked, "Where are we going?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Come on Babe." I took Carlos' outstretched hand and followed him out of the restaurant as I gave a finger wave to our friends and family gathered around to wish us farewell.

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The next and final chapter will be up in a couple of days. Thanks for the reviews.

L.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7. Epilogue

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The characters belong to JE, and here's the final chapter for his particular story. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

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Almost one year later...

"Come on Babe, the place looks great. Sit down and put your feet up. The guests will be here shortly and I don't want you to be too tired to be my wonderful co-host."

I looked around our house. We moved in three weeks ago and ever since then, Val and I have been decorating and getting the house ready for Christmas. We have a huge 15ft. tree in the entrance that is light up with white lights and decorated with white, red and gold glass baubles. The tree is absolutely stunning. We also have garland running around the fireplace, decorative candles and pictures and all sorts of decorations around the rest of the house.

Tonight, our first Christmas Eve as a married couple, Carlos and I are hosting a get-together with all our family and friends. We were expecting upwards of 60 people and Val, Ella and I have worked tirelessly over the past two weeks getting everything ready.

I took Carlos' advice and sat down and put my feet up for a few minutes. My feet were sore and taking my weight off of them for just a few minutes was heavenly. Carlos looked over at me and pulled me onto his lap. He leaned down and kissed me and said, "I can't wait to share our news with the family tonight Babe. I bet they'll be almost as happy as we are."

I smiled and replied, "I don't know Carlos. I think my father will be over-the-moon." The doorbell rang so I kissed Carlos on the cheek and got up to answer the door.

Our first guests were Ella and Luis. They were both carrying trays of food and when Carlos saw who it was, he followed Luis out to get the rest of the contents from the car. I helped Ella get everything into the kitchen or dining room, depending on whether or not it needed the oven. When we walked back into the living room, Val, Albert and the girls were adding to the table with the things Val prepared in the guest house.

I made a few types of salad, leaving the roast turkey to Ella and the glazed ham to Val. They each also prepared several different side dishes so there would be plenty of selection. My mother was bringing several desserts prepared by her and Grandma Mazur and Maria and Carlos' sisters were bringing a bunch of different Cuban dishes.

Carlos and I started placing bowls of popcorn, pretzels, chips and dip around the house. Carlos also insisted on some more healthy snacks, so platters of vegetables and fruit were placed alongside the less healthy alternatives. Most of the guests weren't due to arrive for another ½ hour, but we all looked around with a sigh of relief that everything was accounted for. The turkey was in the oven keeping warm. The ham was resting in the microwave and my parents just arrived bringing at least a dozen different desserts.

My Dad, Carlos and Albert made three trips each and when the car was empty, there was no room on the buffet table in the dining room for another item. I looked at the desserts and made the decision to move the final course of the meal to one of the empty bedrooms upstairs. There was a large desk in that room but nothing else. The girls and the men moved the desserts in quick order, and just in time.

Moments later, Ricardo and Maria arrived with enough food to fill the buffet and the rest of the table. They were transporting all of the food from their family, many of whom would join us later that evening. Our families all met up in the living room where Carlos and I passed out drinks, and the embarrassing stories from our childhoods inevitably were shared. Carlos and I just sat back and smiled as we watched our families interact.

My mother was telling the Manoso's a story about me sneaking out of a dance class when I was 7 years old. I wasn't very interested in dancing, but the karate class that went on in the room next door was how I learned the whole knee to the groin trick. Everyone thought it was a funny story and for once, I wasn't embarrassed by my childhood antics. I was too happy to worry about the stories my parents were sharing.

Other guests started to arrive shortly after. Carlos was kept running for drinks and I was busy welcoming people to our new home. Ella helped Carlos set out the drinks so it was more self-serve and then he joined me at the door.

I looked around and saw all of our family and friends, but there was one obvious couple missing. I looked around for Carlos and he winked at me. He must have known who I was missing because he pointed to his watch and mimed driving and five minutes. I wasn't at all surprised when 5 minutes later, Tank, Lula, Lester and Bobby arrived.

Tank and Lula have been steadily dating for the past year. He still has his cats and she still has her allergies, but they've worked out that she just needs to take over-the-counter allergy pills at least 30 minutes before she sees Tank and she's fine. Lester hasn't changed much over the past year. He is still a ladies' man but he has matured in a way. He refuses to bring a one-night-stand date to a party like tonight.

Bobby on the other hand, is only dateless tonight because his new very serious girlfriend is on shift. She's a paramedic and will stop by later when she's done work at 8. A lot of the other Merry Men are here tonight with their girlfriends, fiancées or wives. Yup, that's right. A few of the guys got married this year. Woody married a tall and leggy blonde from Alabama whom he met while teaching my nieces how to ride the horses.

Hal is a newlywed. He and his new wife only got married 6 weeks ago. They met when she rear-ended him one icy morning this past March. They both say that it was love at first sight. It's a cute story and I remember the day that Hal came in late for work. He was a bit dozy all day and when I confronted him for a reason, he told me that he had just met the woman he was going to marry.

Junior, Manny and Cal are all engaged. Ram has a steady girlfriend and you won't believe who it is. He's been dating Connie ever since the day he walked into the Bond's office and refused to go into Vince's office after hearing that Joyce was just in there. Connie thought it was funny and Ram took a chance and asked hour out on a date. They've been hot and heavy ever since. RangeMan was definitely here in full force tonight. Everywhere you turned one of the guys was telling a story or chatting with other party guests.

Trenton PD was also here in full force. Eddie, Carl, Big Dog, Joe Juniak and even Joe and his fiancée were here. Yes, you did hear that right. Joe and I are on speaking terms again. My whirlwind marriage to Carlos really was what turned the tide. Joe's argument that Ranger didn't want me for anything other than sex was shot all to hell, and Joe finally recognised that Carlos really did love me.

When Carlos and I returned from our honeymoon in the Florida Keys, I ran into Joe at the TPD and he actually congratulated me on my marriage. After that, we started a delicate friendship that was solidified when Carlos and Joe worked on a case together. One of Carlos' favourite clients was accused of murder by a very powerful and connected man. The potential murder victim was missing and there was no body, so it was hard to prove anything. Joe was assigned the case and Ranger was asked to work alongside him.

Together, they proved that the missing man was indeed alive and they worked well together. Since they were no longer competing for me, Joe and Carlos realised that they had a lot in common. They became friends and it was because of their friendship that Joe met his fiancée. Carlos was the one that introduced them.

Mandy's father owns several roller derby rinks throughout the state. He also owns Trenton's own Temptresses, the local Roller Derby team. Mandy is the captain of that team and she was a no-nonsense kind of girl that had an attitude that really reminded Carlos of me when we first met. Carlos bought a couple of tickets to one of their bouts and took Joe. He introduced him to Mandy after the game, and as they say, the rest is history. It still boggles my mind when Joe calls the house and asks to talk to Carlos. I think they like to tease me about it, but I'm just glad that Joe no longer hates me and has finally stopped calling me 'Cupcake.'

I keep looking around and seeing how happy everyone is here tonight. I smile as I make my rounds making sure that everyone has enough to eat and drink. Each time I pass by Carlos, I kiss him and move on. I pass by Mary Lou and Val who are deep in conversation. I think they both know my secret, but I don't want to confirm or deny anything just yet. Carlos and I will share our news when we are ready.

That time actually came a little earlier than expected. My dad, Albert, Carlos and a few of the other guys were out on the back deck smoking cigars. The acrid smell turned my stomach and I had to run to make it to the bathroom in time. When I emerged a few minutes later, Carlos, my mother and a few others were gathered around the door enquiring if I was OK. I looked up at Carlos and nodded so he led me into the middle of the living room and cleared his throat.

The room silenced immediately. Carlos looked around and smiled warmly at all our friends and family. "Steph and I can't express how grateful we are that you were able to join us this evening. Stephanie and Val sure have put in a lot of work to get the house ready for us to be in by Christmas. When the builders were done 6 weeks ago, it looked almost impossible to me that we'd be here now.

"When we first looked at this house, Stephanie was a little reluctant because of the size of this house, but it turns out we might need that extra space sooner than we expected."

Carlos paused at this point and waited for the whispering to finish. He smiled at me and pulled me tighter and then held his hand out to Julie who was sitting beside Mary Alice. Julie walked over and stood in front of us and Carlos continued.

"As many of you know, Julie's step-father has accepted a new job here in New Jersey. As a result, Julie will be spending a lot more time here and will have a room of her own."

Clapping and comments of congratulation were passed around. Everyone thought that was the big news. Everyone but my mother, Mary Lou and Val. I could tell by the look on their faces that they were expecting Carlos to continue. Finally, my mother could take the tension no longer so she spoke loudly and asked, "Is that all your new Carlos?"

Carlos smiled at here and shook his head. "Actually, it's not. It seems that we'll need two of those rooms in 4 months. We're going to have two babies, but we wanted you all to be the first to know."

After twenty minutes of hugs, Carlos finally pulled me from the middle of the throng of people to get some air. My mother came over and hugged me and asked, "How come you waited until your 5th month to tell us?"

I knew my mother was disappointed so I told her the truth. "When I found out that I was pregnant, the doctor didn't think I would be able to carry a baby. We decided to wait until the first trimester was over before we told anyone. When we went in for what we thought was our 3 month check-up, we were told that the baby was actually two babies. The second one must have been hiding when we had our first ultrasound and because it was so small, they assumed it was younger than it really was. "

My father joined us just as I was explaining this to my mother and I could tell by the look on his face that he really wanted to know the sex of the babies. I nodded and grinned at him and he almost picked me up before yelling, "I'm going to have a grandson!"

Carlos shook dad's hand and said, "Actually Frank, you're going to have two grandsons." The grin on my father's face was bigger than I have ever seen. I looked over at Val and she wrapped her arms around me and said, "Thank god you're having a boy. I was afraid that they'd expect me to keep popping them out until I had a boy. I'm so happy for you Steph. You can Carlos are going to make wonderful parents."

Maria and Ricardo were next in line to hug me. They congratulated us and wished me luck. "I hope your little boys are better behaved than their father was as a little boy, and you'll have two of them. Oh my. Please don't hesitate if you need anything."

It was getting late so the crowds with small kids made their way home first. After a while, our families headed home and last but not least, the Merry Men. Ella and our mothers had already gathered all of the dishes and left-overs and brought them into the kitchen, so all we had left to do was run the dishwasher and take out the trash.

After everyone was put away and finished for the night, Carlos and I were lying in bed. He looked over at me and said, "I hope at least one of our sons has your eyes Babe." I had similar sentiments about his eyes and replied, "I hope at least one of our sons has your eyes Carlos."

We both laughed and I fell asleep dreaming about the two boys that we would meet in four short months as I slept wrapped in Carlos' strong and comforting arms.

* * *

Thanks for reading. I've got a few other ideas in the works. Let me know if you're interested in reading them.

Cheers and Happy Christmas/Holidays and a Brilliant New Year.

L.


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